by

• bye (archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection)

From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).

• (UK, US) enPR: bī, IPA^(key): /baɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: bi, bye, buy

by

1. Near or next to.

   The mailbox is by the bus stop.

2. From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.

   The stream runs by our back door.

   He ran straight by me.

3. Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).

   Be back by ten o'clock!.

   We'll find someone by the end of March.

   We will send it by the first week of July.

4. Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
   1. Following a passive verb.

      The matter was decided by the chairman.

      The boat was swamped by the water.

      He was protected by his body armour.

      • 2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

        Valencia threatened sporadically in the first half with Miguel having a decent effort deflected wide by Ashley Cole, while Jordi Alba's near-post cross was flicked into the sidenetting by Pablo Hernandez.

   2. Following a noun.

      There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.

   3. (not in common modern use) Following an adjective.

      I was aghast by what I saw.

      • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, 2005 Barnes & Noble Classics publication of 1912 Wessex edition, p.109:

        In other directions the fields and sky were so much of one colour by the snow that it was difficult in a hasty glance to tell whereabouts the horizon occurred […].

5. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.

   There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare

6. Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.

   I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.

   By Pythagoras' theorem, we can calculate the length of the hypotenuse.

   We went by bus.

   I discovered it by chance.

   By 'maybe' she means 'no'.

   The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.

   • 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC:

     "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. […]"

   • 1945, Neva L. Boyd, Handbook of Recreational Games, Dover, published 1975, →ISBN, page 16:

     Players: Can we get there by candlelight? ¶ Gatekeepers: Yes and back again.

   • 1960, Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish:

     By the light of the moon, / by the light of a star / they walked all night

7. Indicates an authority according to which something is done.

   By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.

   1. Invokes an authority in an oath.

      By Jove! I think she's got it!

      By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.

      • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

        By yonder moon I swear you do me wrong

      • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

        'By my soul! I believe something bad has happened me,' he muttered, and popped up his window, and looked out, half dreaming over the church-yard on the park beyond […]

8. Indicates a means of classification or organisation.

   I sorted the items by category.

   Table 1 shows details of our employees broken down by sex and age.

9. Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy

   Our stock is up by ten percent.

   His date of birth was wrong by ten years.

10. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.

    We went through the book page by page.

    We crawled forward by inches.

11. (with the) Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)

    sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross

    He drinks brandy by the bucketful!

12. per; with or in proportion to each.

    His health was deteriorating by the day.

    The pickers are paid by the bushel.

13. Indicates a referenced source: According to.

    He cheated by his own admission.

    By my reckoning, we should be nearly there.

    • 1722, William Wollaston, “Sect. V. Truths relating to the Deity. Of his exiſtence, perfection, providence, &c.”, in The Religion of Nature Delineated‎, page 81:

      Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd and philoſophical men by the tattle of their nurſes or illiterate parents and companions, or by the faſhion of the country : and people of differing religions judge and condemn each other by their own tenents ; when both of them cannot be in the right, and it is well if either of them are.

14. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.

    It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.

    The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.

    The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.

15. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.

    She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.

• → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)

by (not comparable)

1. Along a path which runs past the speaker.

   I watched as it passed by.

2. In the vicinity, near.

   There was a shepherd close by.

   • 1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II:

     [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]

3. To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.

   I'll stop by on my way home from work.

   We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.

4. (uncommon) aside, away

   The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.

by (not comparable)

1. Out of the way, off to one side.

   a by path, a by room

2. Subsidiary, incidental.

   by catch, a by issue

More usually in compounds, either hyphenated (e.g. by-product) or closed (e.g. byproduct); see also by-.

• main, principal

• See English terms prefixed with by-

by (plural bys)

1. Alternative form of bye.

by

1. Dated form of bye (“goodbye”).

• YB, Yb, yb

• IPA^(key): /bəi/, [bə̟i̯]

From Dutch bij, from Middle Dutch bi, from Old Dutch bī.

by

1. at
2. to
3. by

From Dutch bij, from Middle Dutch bie, from Old Dutch *bīa.

by (plural bye)

1. bee

• heuningby
• hommelby

• BY

Semantic shift from English by.

by

1. (Taiwan, informal) according to

   by某現任立委本人所說 [MSC, trad.]
   by某现任立委本人所说 [MSC, simp.]

   bāi mǒu xiànrèn lìwěi běnrén suǒ shuō [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Inherited from Old Czech by, from Proto-Slavic *by.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɪ]

• Audio

  (file)

by

1. third-person singular conditional subjunctive of být; would

   Vstával by dřív, ale to by si napřed musel koupit budík.

   He would be getting up earlier, but then he would have to buy an alarm clock first.

2. (clipping, informal); would

   Byl by tam šel, kdyby mě byli pozvali.

   I would have gone there if they had invited me.

   My by tam šli, kdyby nás byli pozvali.

   We would have gone there if they had invited us.

• In formal language, it is used for the third person of the infinitive být, both singular and plural and with the second person of the verb být.

  Zahrál by sis jednu hru? ― Would you [like to] play one game?

• In colloquial Czech, by is commonly used in place of other conditional forms of být in both singular and plural if the subject is deducible from context (from the conjugated form of the verb). That is, by is a shared shorthand for bych, bys, bychom and byste.

• by in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• by in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

From Old Norse býr, bœr (settlement).

• IPA^(key): [ˈb̥yˀ]

by c (singular definite byen, plural indefinite byer)

1. town, city

• by on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

Borrowed from English by.

• IPA^(key): [ba̠i]

by(バイ) • (bai) 

1. (informal) Used to sign off a message/attribute a text.
   • 2002,

     ココにはバッファから生成したMAPのTEXTURE希望　by JAMAD

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2007, 『さよなら絶望先生』 第5話

     己を知らされば、戦う毎に必ず殆し。by 孫子

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2009, 『けいおん！』 第4話

     めざせ武道館！！　by 軽音部！

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

From Proto-Slavic *by (third-person singular aorist of *byti)

• IPA^(key): [bɨ]

by (defective, invariable)

1. would (used with the past active participle to form a conditional)

   Njecynimy to, dokulaž by jim škóźeło.

   We don’t do that because it would hurt them.

This verb may be omitted before the past active participles of móc (“be able to”), kśěś (“want to”), and dejaś (“ought to”).

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “by”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “by”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

• b'
• b-

by (triggers lenition)

1. past/conditional of s'

   By vie lhiam goll myrgeddin.

   I want to go as well.

   B'laik lhiam briaght jiu c'red bare lhiu jannoo jiu.

   I'd like to ask you what you'd prefer to do today.

2. (dated) Past and conditional form of s' (used to introduce the comparative and superlative form of adjectives)

   yn dooinney by hroshey ― the man who was the strongest

Inherited from Old English bī, from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

• be, bi

• IPA^(key): /biː/, (unstressed) /bi/

by

1. by
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41:

     And I seide, “Ser, in his tyme maister Ioon Wiclef was holden of ful many men the grettis clerk that thei knewen lyuynge vpon erthe. And therwith he was named, as I gesse worthili, a passing reuli man and an innocent in al his lyuynge. And herfore grete men of kunnynge and other also drowen myche to him, and comownede ofte with him. And thei sauouriden so his loore that thei wroten it bisili and enforsiden hem to rulen hem theraftir… Maister Ion Aston taughte and wroot acordingli and ful bisili, where and whanne and to whom he myghte, and he vsid it himsilf, I gesse, right perfyghtli vnto his lyues eende. Also Filip of Repintoun whilis he was a chanoun of Leycetre, Nycol Herforde, dane Geffrey of Pikeringe, monke of Biland and a maistir dyuynyte, and Ioon Purueye, and manye other whiche weren holden rightwise men and prudent, taughten and wroten bisili this forseide lore of Wiclef, and conformeden hem therto. And with alle these men I was ofte homli and I comownede with hem long tyme and fele, and so bifore alle othir men I chees wilfulli to be enformed bi hem and of hem, and speciali of Wiclef himsilf, as of the moost vertuous and goodlich wise man that I herde of owhere either knew. And herfore of Wicleef speciali and of these men I toke the lore whiche I haue taughte and purpose to lyue aftir, if God wole, to my lyues ende.”

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• bi-
• by-

• English: by
  • → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)
• Scots: by, bye, bi', be, b'
• Yola: bee, bie, be, by

• “bī, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

by

1. Alternative form of been (“to be”)

• IPA^(key): /byː/, [byː]

From Old Norse býr (“place (to camp or settle), land, property, lot; and later settlement”).

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byer, definite plural byene)

1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)

From byde, from Old Norse bjóða, from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to wake, rise up”).

• byde

by (imperative by, present tense byr, simple past bød or bøy or bydde, past participle budt or bydd)

1. to bid; offer
2. to ask; invite
3. to command; order

• “by” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /byː/

From Old Norse býr m, from Proto-Germanic *būwiz. Doublet of bø.

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byar, definite plural byane)

1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)

• bu

From Old Norse bjóða, from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to wake, rise up”). Akin to English bid.

• bjoda, bjode, byda, byde

by (present tense byr, past tense baud or bydde, supine bode or bydd or bydt, past participle boden or bydd, present participle bydande, imperative by)

1. to command, order

   Eg byd deg å stoppe.

   I command you to stop.

2. to bid, offer

   Eg byd deg 100 kroner.

   I offer you a 100 NOK.

3. to offer

   Bestemor baud på småkaker.

   Granny offered us cookies.

• bod n

• “by” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “by” in The Ordnett Dictionary

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *by.

by

1. second/third-person singular aorist of býti

   Synonym: bě

2. Introduces a clause two which the speaker has reservations or uncertainty.
3. Especially with a negated verb; expresses concern.
4. Introduces a clause of intention; in order to; would that
5. Especially after a negated verb; expresses that the viewer sees something as unrealistic.
6. Forms a conditional; would
7. Admissive; albeit, although

• Czech: by

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “by”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /bɨ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /bɨ/

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *by. First attested in the 14th century.

by

1. introduces a clause of aim; to, so that, in order to
   • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎, Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 9, 31:

     Grzeszni... godzi, bi vlapil vbogego (insidiatur, ut rapiat pauperem)

     [Grzeszny... godzi, by ułapił ubogiego (insidiatur, ut rapiat pauperem)]

   • 1887, 1889 [1395], Józef Lekszycki, editor, Die ältesten großpolnischen Grodbücher, volume II, number 1773, Greater Poland:

     Orandowal i[e]szm do gich domv, by penødze brali

     [Orędował j[e]śm do jich domu, by pieniądze brali]

2. introduces a command; to
   • End of the 15th century, Dekalog - Dziesięcioro przykazań bożych - Decem praecepta Dei, volume III, page 2:

     Pamyantay, tobe vyele, by czczil suato y nyedzela

     [Pamiętaj, tobie wielę, by czcił święto i niedzielę]

   • 1861 [1398], Pismo poświęcone naukom, sztukom i przemysłowi‎, volume III, Biblioteka Warszawska, page 34:

     Micolay prosil prze bok, by mu othpustil przisi[an]gą

     [Mikołaj prosił prze Bog, by mu otpuścił przysi[ę]gę]

   • 1892 [1484], Hieronim Łopaciński, editor, Reguła trzeciego zakonu św. Franciszka i drobniejsze zabytki języka polskiego z końca w. XV i początku XVI‎, Krakow, page 721:

     Nye chczemy, by tho zgromadzenye navyedzal... kthory lagyk (nolumus tamen congregationem huiusmodi a laico visitari)

     [Nie chcemy, by to zgromadzenie nawiedzał... ktory lajik (nolumus tamen congregationem huiusmodi a laico visitari)]

3. introduces a clarifying clause; to
   • 1888 [1401], Romuald Hube, editor, Zbiór rot przysiąg sądowych poznańskich, kościańskich, kaliskich, sieradzkich, piotrkowskich i dobrzyszyckich z końca wieku XIV i pierwszych lat wieku XV‎, Greater Poland, page 109:

     Sczepan zalowal, bi Przibkowa dzewka mu pancz grziwen wcradla

     [Szczepan żałował, by Przybkowa dziewka mu pięć grzywien ukradła]

4. introduces clauses of emotions; to
   • 1874-1891 [Middle of the fifteenth century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności, volume XXII, page 235:

     Boymisch syą, bichom pichą krolewstwa nyebyeskyego ny straczily

     [Bojmyż się, bychom pychą krolewstwa niebieskiego ni stracili]

   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎, page 610:

     Byli krzywi, bo im był przykazał, aby nie spali; a kiedy przyszedł a oni śpią, pochwacili sie ze snu..., bo im było żal i srom, by jego pośledniej kaźni nie mogli popełnić

     [Byli krzywi, bo im był przykazał, aby nie spali. A kiedy przyszedł, a oni śpią, pochwacili sie ze snu..., bo im było żal i srom, by jego pośledniej kaźni nie mogli popełnić]

5. introduces a subjective clause; in order to
   • End of the 15th century, Dekalog - Dziesięcioro przykazań bożych - Decem praecepta Dei, volume II, page 1:

     Tocz yest volą bogą naszego, bychom pelnyly przykaząnye *yago

     [Toć jest wola Boga naszego, bychom pełnili przykazanie jego]

6. introduces an attributive clause; in order to
   • 1887, 1889 [1399], Józef Lekszycki, editor, Die ältesten großpolnischen Grodbücher, volume II, number 1376, Greater Poland:

     Micol[ay] s Wawrzincem ne vmawal nigednei vmo[wi], bi meli pusczicz na przyaczele

     [Mikoł[aj] z Wawrzyńcem nie umawiał nijednej umo[wy], by mieli puścić na przyjaciele]

7. introduces a clausal clause; in order to
   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎, page 790:

     Nie jesteśmy tako źli, bychmy to uczynili

     [Nie jestesmy tako źli, bychmy to uczynili]

8. introduces an unreal conditional clause; if
   • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎, Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 93, 17:

     Bo by bog ne podpomogl me, przes mala przebiwalabi bila w pekle dusza moia (nisi quia dominus adiuvit me, paulo minus habitasset in inferno anima mea)

     [Bo by Bog nie podpomogł mie, przez mała przebywałaby była w piekle dusza moja (nisi quia Dominus adiuvit me, paulo minus habitasset in inferno anima mea)]

9. admissive; albeit, although
   • 1895 [1448–1450], Mikołaj Suled, edited by Franciszek Piekosiński, Tłumaczenia polskie statutów ziemskich, Kodeks Świętosławów, Warka, page 63:

     (Pothkomorze wszącz ma)... dwa rydla a nye wyączey, by tesz dwye alybo trzy dzedzyny myedzy dwyema granyczyl (etiamsi duas aut tres hereditates inter duos limitaret)

     [(Podkomorze wziąć ma)... dwa rydla, a nie więcej, by też dwie alibo trzy dziedziny miedzy dwiema graniczył (etiamsi duas aut tres hereditates inter duos limitaret)]

by

1. expresses optative meaning; if only, had better, let
   • 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter]‎, Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 27, 1:

     Bosze moy, ne milczy ote mne, bi negdi ne milczal ote mne (deus meus, ne sileas a me, ne quando taceas a me)

     [Boże moj, nie milczy ote mnie, by niegdy nie milczał ote mnie (Deus meus, ne sileas a me, ne quando taceas a me)]

• Masurian: bi
• Polish: by
• Silesian: by

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

by

1. third-person singular aorist of być
2. second-person singular aorist of być

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “by”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “by”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “by”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “by”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Polish by.

• IPA^(key): /bɨ/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈbɨ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɨ
• Syllabification: by

by

1. forms the conditional mood; would, would've

   On by tam nie poszedł./On nie poszedłby tam. ― He would not go there.

by

1. creates a subordinate clause expressing desire or wish; to, so that, for that, in order to [+past tense]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

2. creates an optative clause; if only, had better, let [+past tense]

   Near-synonyms: bodaj, bodajby, byle, byleby, niech, niechaj, niechajże, niechby, niechże, oby

3. creates a subordinate clause expressing aim or purpose, one's goal; to, so that, for that, in order to [+infinitive]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

4. creates a subordinate clause in which one states the possibility of something depends on something else; to, so that, for that, in order to [+infinitive]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

5. introduces a subordinate clause relating a following event with a previous one that is not caused by the first event; just to, only to [+infinitive]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby

6. introduces a subordinate clause expression doubt; if

   Synonyms: ażeby, żeby

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), by is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 20 times in scientific texts, 5 times in news, 64 times in essays, 88 times in fiction, and 172 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 349 times, making it the 144th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]

• by in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• by in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “by”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “BY”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2022 September 19
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 242

• bye, bi', be, b'

From Middle English by, from Old English bi, from Proto-West Germanic *bī. Cognates include English by and Yola bee.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɪ], [ˈbə][1]
• (emphatic) IPA^(key): [ˈbɑɪ̯][1]

by

1. by
2. (in comparisons) than
   • 1894, Robert Hunter, A Treatise on the Law of Landlord and Tenant:

     Archie was auld by me.

     Archie was older than me.

     (literally, “Archie was old by me.”)

by

1. by, nearby

by

1. by (the time that)

Inherited from Old Polish by.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪ/
• Rhymes: -bɪ
• Syllabification: by

by

1. forms the conditional mood; would, would've

by

1. in order to, so that

   Synonyms: aby, ażby, coby, iżeby, żeby

• by in silling.org

• audio

  (file)

From Old Swedish bȳr, bȳ (“village, farm, town”), from Old Norse býr. Cognate with Danish by (“town, city”, whence also Faroese býur with the same meaning), Norwegian Bokmål by (“town, city”) and Norwegian Nynorsk by (“town, city”).

by c

1. hamlet
2. village
3. (obsolete) farm
4. (obsolete) town, city
5. (slang, in the definite "byn") Rinkeby

From Dutch bui or Low German bö, böe, böje. Cognate with Danish byge, Norwegian Bokmål byge, bøye and Norwegian Nynorsk bye, bøye.

by c

1. gust, rush of wind

• by in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• by in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• by in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• by in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• by in Nationalencyklopedin (needs an authorization fee).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɨ/
• Rhymes: -ɨ
• Syllabification: by

by

1. second/third-person singular conditional of być

• (Clay) IPA^(key): /bɛi̯/
• (Wood) IPA^(key): /bi/

by

1. near to
2. in relation to

   By âlds

   In the olden days

• “by”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

by

1. Alternative form of bee (“by”)
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 84:

     At by mizluck was ee-pit t'drive in.

     Who by misluck was placed to drive in.

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 86:

     Many a bra draught by Tommeen was ee-maate;

     Many a brave stroke by Tommy was made;

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867